Monday, October 3, 2011

Vegan Beer Brats? Yes!

Not exactly a recipe.. good just the same!

brat tofurky

We used Whole Foods premade pizza dough to make fresh, warm buns. WOW. Fresh bread makes the meal SO much better!

To cook the brats, don't bother reading the package. It's easy: heat the skillet with a little olive oil, add some beer. Put your brats on the cast iron skillet and place a lid or plate mostly over the top. You're cooking and steaming in one go!

Turn, cook. Turn, cook some more. You'll know when it's done.

We shaped the buns out of the pizza dough and cooked at 375-400 degrees while the brat was cooking.

If you want heavenly comfort food... this will hit the spot!

Serve with freshly cooked zucchini.

Better Than Hashbrowns

Who doesn't love hash browns on cold winter mornings? Well, it turns out hashbrown-y type foods are excellent for dinner as well.

IMGP1553

It seems we're not the only one getting free, huge zucchinis. (No, that is not a euphemism.) So, what do you do with so much zucchini? Eat it, of course!

I decided I wanted a low-fat, hashbrown-y side dish with beer brats. Hashbrowns are a comfort food if you're from the south. We used to fry them, of course. But this low-fat way of cooking works out wonderfully. Truly.

INGREDIENTS

2 c grated zucchini
1.5 c grated potato
.5 c grated carrot
4 T whole wheat flour
1 T olive oil
Spices, optional


Use organic so you don't have to shave the skins before grating. Yum.

Grate the zucchini first. Put in a strainer and squeeze out as much water as possible. This will only take a few minutes.

Meanwhile grate your potato and carrot.

Mix together in a bowl. This is the pretty part!

Now add flour. Mix it up by hand. Add desired spices. I used about 2 t garlic, 1/2 t onion powder, 1 t raw salt.

Heat your cast iron skillet and heat up the oil. Form the grated veggies into patties. Cook about 5 minutes on each side. Use your food turner to press it down and flip a few times - but not too many. It'll hold together better if you don't flip too often.

These are fantastic! Oil it up if you want... but it's exquisite with only the oil on the skillet.